Quotes from Christina Baker Kline

All those children sent on trains to the Midwest—collected off the streets of New York like refuse, garbage on a barge, to be sent as far away as possible, out of sight.

These women are a little afraid of Mrs. Murphy, I can see. Over the course of dinner I notice that she can be snappish and short-tempered, and she likes to be the boss. When one of them expresses an opinion she disagrees with, she looks around at the group and gathers allies for her position. But she is nothing but kind to me.

Si no puedes reírte de ti misma, vas a tener una vida muy complicada.

When she leaves, I inspect my reflection in the mirror—the first time since arriving in Minnesota I've looked in a whole piece of mirror unclouded by spots and damage. A girl I barely recognize stares back. She is thin and pale, dull eyed, with sharp cheekbones and matted dark red hair, wind-chapped cheeks, and a red-rimmed nose. Her lips are scabbed, and her sweater is pilled and soiled with dirt. I swallow—she swallows. My throat hurts. I must be getting sick.

for the first time since the fire, my worries are gone. I feel a joy so strong it's almost painful—a knife's edge of joy.

so filled with nervous energy that I can feel the blood pumping through my heart.

Turtles carry their homes on their backs." Running her finger over the tattoo, she tells him what her dad told her: "They're exposed and hidden at the same time. They're a symbol of strength and perseverance." "That's very deep.

Mrs. Scatcherd says we should make a clean slate," I say. "Let go of the past." "I can let go of the past, no problem." He picks up the wool blanket that has fallen to the floor and tucks it around the lump of Carmine's body, covering the parts that are exposed. "But I don't want to forget everything.

Well," she says, "I'm a Penobscot Indian on my father's side. When I was young, we lived on a reservation near Old Town." "Ah. Hence the black hair and tribal makeup." Molly is startled. She's never thought to make that connection—is it true?

Mr. Grote doesn't believe in government telling him what to do. Tell the truth, he doesn't believe in government at all. He has never been to school a day in his life and doesn't see the point. But he'll send me to school if that's what it takes to keep the authorities out of his hair.

am learning to pretend, to smile and nod, to display empathy I do not feel. I am learning to pass, to look like everyone else, even though I feel broken inside.

I skip down the driveway, hurry up the road, linger on the bridge for a moment, looking down at the reflection of the sky like mercury on the dark water, the foaming white suds near the rocks. Ice glistens on tree branches, frost webs over dried grasses in a sparkling net. The evergreens, dusted with the light snow that fell last night, are like a forest of Christmas trees. For the first time, I am struck by the austere beauty of this place.

It is a pitiful kind of childhood, to know that no one loves you or is taking care of you, to always be on the outside looking in.

woman she pays to take care of her, she is as alone as a person can be. She has never tried to

My hands are clammy. It's a terrible kind of anticipation, not knowing what we're walking into. The last time I felt this way I was in the waiting rooms at Ellis Island.

It was during this period that she would wake in the night and get out of bed to go to her parents' room, only to realize, standing in the hall, that she had no parents.

and the National Orphan Train Complex in Concordia, Kansas,

The brilliant blue of the morning sky has faded, as if left out too long in the sun.

Orphan Train Rider: One Boy's True Story by Andrea Warren; Children of the Orphan Trains, 1854–1929 by Holly Littlefield; and Rachel Calof's Story: Jewish Homesteader on the Northern Plains edited by J. Sanford Rikoon (which

My hands are clammy. It's a terrible kind of anticipation, not knowing what we're walking into. The last time I felt this way I was in the waiting rooms at Ellis Island. We were tired, and Mam wasn't well, and we didn't know where we were going or what kind of life we would have. But now I can see all I took for granted: I had a family. I believed that whatever happened, we'd be together. A policeman blows a whistle

She didn't have a compass, a map, or even a decent sense of direction. She wasn't certain she would recognize herself.

After a while you don't know what your own needs are anymore.

Dutchy and I are about as opposite as two people can be. I am practical and circumspect; he is impulsive and direct. I'm accustomed to getting up before the sun rises; he pulls me back to bed.

out and folding it against